That’s what the members of the Greenwich High School dance team are, as they showcase their athletic skills while entertaining a crowd with each routine they perform.

If you have attended a Greenwich High boys basketball game this season, chances are you saw the Cardinals’ dance team in action.

The school’s dance team has performed at halftime at each boys basketball game and has appeared at some football games, one of which was the Cardinals’ Homecoming Day game. Comprised of 18 girls, the dance team is captained by Emily Graffeo, Megan Plancher and Alana Elliott. Coached by Kathy Steiner, the squad, which practices three times a week, is preparing to display its dance skills in regional events at Woodland Regional High School and Fairfield Warde High School. They perform routines to hip hop and jazz music.

“The three of us choreograph all of our dances and pick the music for all of our routines,” said Plancher, a junior, who is in her second year as one of the captains of the squad. “We have to make sure all the moves fit together and that everyone on the team will be able to do them, while looking unified — it’s a challenge.”

Graffeo said she enjoys choreographing the routines with her fellow captains.

“It’s one of the most fun parts for me,” said Graffeo, a senior two-year captain. “Most high school dance teams don’t have that opportunity. They will get someone from the outside to choreograph the routines, so for us to have the opportunity to do that and bring that choreography to state competitions is an honor.”

Indeed, a lot goes into choreographing a routine.

“As a dancer, sometimes you hear a song and you know right away that it is a good song to choreograph to. It’s a long process, sometimes we just sit and listen to music and think. Or sometimes you hear a song on the radio and say, I want to do a dance to that song,” Graffeo said.

Performing before a large sports crowd may be a daunting task to some, but the dance team, which also has a state competition coming up, welcomes the spotlight.

“I love performing, I’ve been performing my entire life, so I don’t really get nervous,” Elliott said. “The only time we get nervous is when we do our competition hip hop routine. The build up before that sometimes could be scary, but we’re pretty confident going into states.”

“Our hip hop routine for competition this year is really fun and it takes so much energy to perform it,” Elliott said. “It’s exciting to be out there with everyone and it’s great when we are in front of our peers cheering us on. Basketball season is one of my favorite parts of the season. We are up close to the crowd, so we really feel their energy too.”

Said Plancher: “To dance in front of a crowd is super fun and definitely challenging, but an awesome experience altogether.”